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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Welcome
to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, for The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty. Please leave a comment or question for Ms.
Dougherty to let her know you stopped by.

In
the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix
Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman
Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political
statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for
fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s
nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels.

But
the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate
directions.

Felix’s
destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the
outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a
city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As
they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul
haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a
dangerous, uncertain future.

No one ever really knows the depth of man’s depravity or the
lengths an individual will take to survive an untenable situation. While this has been proven time and again, Victoria Dougherty’s novel, The Bone Church,
gives us an excellent example of both.
Setting her story mostly in Prague,
Ms. Dougherty takes us on a journey between events occurring during World
War II (specifically 1943) and the Soviet “liberation” and then occupation of
Czechoslovakia through 1956. Well-developed
primary and secondary characters, vivid descriptions of a country going through
the hell of war, and a church that manages to survive both are key to Ms. Dougherty’s story.

Beginning her story in 1956, Ms. Dougherty introduces us to “Father” Felix, a man who is on a
mission to rescue a woman from communist Czechoslovakia with forged
papers. The woman he seeks from his
past, Magdalena, has always had a place in his heart and their history during
the years of Nazi occupation could result in her death. The fact she’s Jewish, a member of an ethnic
group despise by both the Nazi’s and the Russian communists, also plays a large
role in his need to rescue her.

Taking us back and forth between the years 1943 and 1956, Ms. Dougherty develops her characters,
the political and social background of Prague, and a forbidden romance. Reminding us of the horrors of war, Ms. Dougherty paints a picture of Prague
which reminded me once again of just how bad things became for the Jews who
didn’t escape Europe before the war. Ms. Dougherty’s characters portrayed the
fear, distrust and betrayal in such a way that you could feel it while reading
the book.

Ms.
Dougherty also showcased Felix’s unusual talent, an almost paranormal
ability to communicate with the dead, which may or may not have been tied to an
event in his family’s past. The author
also focused on the Roman Catholic Church’s situation during the war, what they
did and didn’t do to help war victims and portrayed the importance of one
particular church, The Church of All Saints (aka The Bone Church), played in Felix
and Magdalena’s experiences. Ms. Dougherty also highlighted the importance
that art, both religious and secular, has always played in terms of finance
when dealing with occupying armies.

This is my first experience reading a book by Ms. Dougherty and I was very pleased
with my experience reading most of the book.
My only complaint was how the transitions in time between the past (40’s)
and present (’56) were handled. There
were a few times that I was confused and had to re-read a section to make sure
I knew when the particular events were taking place. Overall I found The Bone Church to be an enjoyable
historical suspense thriller and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Dougherty’s work.

My Rating: 4.5 out of
5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley as a part of this tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.

About
the Author

Victoria Dougherty writes fiction, drama, and essays that
often revolve around spies, killers, curses and destinies. Her work has been
published or profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, International Herald
Tribune and elsewhere. Earlier in her career, while living in Prague, she
co-founded Black Box Theater, translating, producing and acting in several
Czech plays. She lives with her husband and children in Charlottesville,
Virginia.

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